Unit-II

Components of Electric Vehicles

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

Contents….
Main components of Electric Vehicles – Power Converters - Controller and
Electric Traction Motor – Rectifiers used in EVs – Bidirectional DC–DC
Converters – Voltage Source Inverters.

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 Introduction
 Electric Vehicles (EVs) rely on several key components to convert, manage, and deliver

electrical power efficiently:

 Power Converters:

 Rectifiers convert AC power from the grid to DC for charging the battery.

 DC-DC Converters adjust voltage levels for various vehicle systems, including battery

and auxiliary loads.

 DC-AC Converters (Inverters) convert DC power from the battery into AC to drive the

electric motor.

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  Controller: The controller regulates the motor, battery, and energy flow, ensuring efficient

performance, speed, torque control, and energy optimization.

 Electric Traction Motor: The motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy to

drive the vehicle's wheels. Common types include Permanent Magnet Synchronous

Motors (PMSM) and Induction Motors.

 Bidirectional DC-DC Converters: These converters enable power flow in both
directions—charging the battery and allowing regenerative braking to return energy to the
battery.
 Voltage Source Inverters (VSI): The VSI converts DC to AC power for the motor,
controlling its speed and torque, and enabling regenerative braking to send power back to
the battery.
 Together, these components ensure that EVs operate efficiently, with smooth power
delivery, regeneration, and optimal performance.

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 Configuration of an Electric Vehicle
 An EV, unlike its ICE counterparts, is quite flexible. This is because of the absence
of intricate mechanical arrangements that are required to run a conventional
vehicle. In an EV, there is only one moving part, the motor.
 It can be controlled by different control arrangements and techniques. The motor
needs a power supply to run, which can be obtained from an array of sources.
These two components can be placed at different locations on the vehicle and as
long as they are connected through electrical wires, the vehicle will work.
 Then again, an EV can run solely on electricity, but an ICE and an electric motor
can also work in conjunction to turn the wheels. Because of such flexibility,
different configurations emerged, which are adopted according to the type of a
vehicle.

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 An EV can be considered as a system incorporating three different subsystems:

energy source, propulsion, and auxiliary.

 The energy source subsystem includes the source, its refueling system and energy

management system.

 The propulsion subsystem has the electric motor, power converter, controller,

transmission, and the driving wheels as its components.

 The auxiliary subsystem comprises auxiliary power supply, temperature control

system, and the power steering unit.

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 These subsystems are shown in below Figure. The arrows indicate the flow of the entities in question. A
backward flow of power can be created by regenerative actions like regenerative braking. The energy source
has to be receptive to store the energy sent back by regenerative actions. Most of the EV batteries along with
capacitors/flywheels (CFs) are compatible with such energy regeneration techniques.

Fig. EV subsystems
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 (a) (b)
Fig. Battery Electric Vehicle (a) Typical structure of BEV, (b) Control scheme operating modes of BEV.

Fig. SHEV (a) Typical structure of SHEV (b) Different operating mode of SHEV.

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 Fig. PHEV (a) Typical structure of PHEV (b) Different operating mode of PHEV

Fig. SPHEV (a) Typical structure of SPHEV (b) Different working mode of SPHEV.

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General EV Setup
 The below Figure shows a front-engine front-wheel drive vehicle with just the ICE replaced by an electric motor.

 It has a gearbox and clutch that allows high

torque at low speeds and low torque at high
speeds.
 There is a differential as well that allows the
wheels to rotate at different speeds.

Fig. Different front wheel drive EV configurations: (a) front-wheel drive vehicle with the ICE replaced by an electric motor; (b) vehicle
configuration with the clutch omitted; (c) configuration with motor, gear, and differential combined as a single unit to drive the front wheels;
(d) configuration with individual motors with fixed fearing for the front wheels to obtain differential action; (e)modified configuration with
the fixed gearing arrangement placed within the wheels; (f) configuration with the mechanical gear system removed by mounting a low-speed
motor on the wheel rim

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 Power Electronics in HEVs
 Power electronics is one of the enabling technologies propelling the shift from conventional gasoline/diesel
engine‐powered vehicles to electric, hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles. This chapter discusses the power
electronics used in EVs.
 To explain the types of power electronics circuits used in an EV, we use the configuration of a typical series
HEV powertrain as shown in below Figure. In this configuration, the internal combustion engine (ICE) drives
a three‐phase permanent magnet synchronous generator, whose output is a three‐phase voltage with variable
frequency and variable voltage. This output needs to be rectified to DC.

Fig. Power electronics converters used in a series HEV.

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 The front wheels are driven by an induction motor which needs to be controlled by
a voltage source inverter (VSI) or a current source inverter (CSI). An energy storage
system is connected to the DC bus, between the generator/rectifier output and the
inverter. However, there is a bidirectional DC–DC converter that manages the
charge/discharge of the battery, as well as controlling the DC bus voltage.
 In conventional vehicles, the air‐conditioning (A/C) compressor is driven by the
engine through a belt. In advanced EVs, the engine is very often turned off during
stop‐and‐go driving patterns. In order to have A/C while the engine is off, the
compressor needs to be driven by an electric motor that runs from the hybrid
battery. There may be an electrically driven hydraulic pressure pump for the
vehicle’s hydraulic systems, such as frictional brakes and power steering. The A/C
motor and the compressor motor are typically brushless DC motors with an
inverter.

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 In addition, auxiliary components, such as headlights, wipers, entertainment systems,
and heat seats, run from the 14 V auxiliary battery. Most advanced hybrid vehicles no
longer have an alternator, which means that the 14 V battery needs to be charged
from the high‐voltage (HV) battery.
 On the other hand, even if an alternator is present, when the engine is off, the 14 V
battery can still be drained quickly without proper charge maintenance. Therefore, it
is necessary to have a DC–DC converter to charge the 14 V battery from the HV
battery. For a PHEV, there is also a battery charger installed on the vehicle or in the
charging station.
 Even though there are commonalities between the power converters used in EVs and
the ones used in other industrial, commercial, or residential applications, there are
some unique features specific to automotive applications. Examples include wider
ambient operating temperature (−20 to 90°C), vibration and shock, electromagnetic
compatibility, and thermal management.
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 The power electronics unit consists of a bidirectional DC–DC converter that links the hybrid battery
and the DC bus, and three motor drive circuits that control the front and rear motor/generators. The
issues to be addressed in the design of EV power electronics circuits involve:
 Electrical design: Includes main switching circuit design, controller circuitry design,
switching frequency optimization, and loss calculations.
 Control algorithm design: Includes developing the control algorithm to achieve the
desired voltage, current, and frequency at the output, and to realize bidirectional power
flow as needed.
 Magnetic design: Includes the design of inductors, transformers, and other components
such as capacitors needed for filtering, switching, and the gate driver units.
 EMC design: Includes understanding the electromagnetic interference (EMI) issues,
analyzing switching transients, and circuit layout that minimizes parasitic inductance and
capacitances.
 Mechanical and thermal design: Includes modeling of the loss of power devices and
magnetic components; cooling system, heat sink, and enclosure design; and integration of
the power electronics unit.

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 Principles of Power Electronics
 In broad terms, power electronics is a discipline that studies power converters
which process and control power flow by electronic means. It mainly involves the
use and control of power semiconductor switches, such as power diodes, insulated
gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), and metal oxide field effect transistors (MOSFETs).
 The below Figure illustrates the schematics of a power converter.

Fig. Schematics of a power converter.

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  A typical power converter will consist of four segments: switching and peripheral circuits,
filtering circuits, control circuits and feedback, and an optional user interface:
 Types of power converters: Power converters are usually classified by their input and
output. Since the input and output of a power converter can be either AC or DC, there can
be four types of power converters:
 – DC–DC converter
 – DC–AC inverter
 – AC–DC rectifier
 – AC–AC cycloconverter.
 The first three types of power converters are all used in EVs. The fourth type, the AC–AC
cycloconverter, is only used in high‐power AC–AC systems to control the voltage
magnitude and frequency of large motors. However, AC–AC conversion involving an AC–
DC circuit and a DC–AC circuit is not unusual.
 Depending on the powertrain configuration and the level of hybridization, an EV can
involve one or more power converters of different types.
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 Main circuit (switches, peripherals): The main circuit consists of power semiconductor

devices (switches and diodes) and peripheral circuits. The semiconductor switches are

controlled to turn on and turn off at a frequency ranging from a few kilohertz to a few tens or

hundreds of kilohertz for EV applications. Depending on the voltage level of the systems, both

MOSFETs and IGBTs are used in EV power converters.

 Filtering circuit: Power electronics converters usually involve LC low‐pass filters that will

filter out the high‐frequency components of the output voltage and let the low‐frequency

components or DC component pass to the load side.

 Control and feedback circuit: Control and feedback typically involve the use of

microcontrollers and sensors. EV powertrain applications usually involve feedback torque

control. Current feedback is usually necessary.

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Power Electronic Switches
 The power electronic devices or switches are either of two terminals or three terminals; the
third terminal, when it exists, is for the small signal control input.
 Device operation switches from ‘on’ to ‘off’ state or vice versa based on either signal changes
to its control terminal or changes in circuit conditions.
 Two terminal devices change state when circuit conditions dictate, whereas three terminal
devices change state with changes in its control input.

Fig. Ideal switch and its conduction characteristics. (a) Switch symbol; (b) switch characteristics in four
quadrants
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Power Semiconductor Devices
Switching
Power Level Typical Devices Applications
Frequency

Consumer electronics, low-

MOSFETs, Diodes, Low to Medium
Low Power power power supplies,
IGBTs (Up to 20 kHz)
small motor drives

Motor drives, renewable

IGBTs, MOSFETs, Medium (20 kHz -
Medium Power energy inverters, industrial
Thyristors (SCRs) 50 kHz)
power supplies

EVs, industrial motor

IGBTs, Thyristors, Low to Medium
High Power drives, HVDC, power
GTOs (Up to 10 kHz)
transmission

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 Switching Typical Devices Applications
Frequency

Consumer electronics, low-

Low Frequency MOSFETs, Diodes,
power power supplies, small
(50 Hz - 1 kHz) IGBTs
motor drives

Motor drives, renewable energy

Medium Frequency IGBTs, MOSFETs,
inverters, industrial power
(1 kHz - 50 kHz) Thyristors (SCRs)
supplies

High Frequency IGBTs, Thyristors, EVs, industrial motor drives,

(50 kHz - MHz) GTOs HVDC, power transmission

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 Fig. Semiconductor power devices with respect to power and
frequency levels.

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Bi-Directional Switch

Fig. (a) Bi-directional current switch and (b) bi-directional voltage switch

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 DC/DC Converters
 The DC/DC converters change the system voltages from one level to another. The input to the
converter is a filtered DC voltage, although it may be unregulated. The output is a regulated DC
voltage; multiple outputs are also designed for many applications.
 The converters have inductive and capacitive storage elements in addition to the switching
devices. The switching frequency of the power devices are very high often reaching as high as a
few hundreds of kHz. The high switching frequency helps minimize the size of the storage
elements.
 The efficiencies of these switching converters are also very high in the upper 90 percentages.
 Depending on whether or not transformer isolation is used, the switching converters can be
broadly classified into isolated and non-isolated DC/DC converters.
 The basic non-isolated DC/ DC converter has a single switch and a single diode; these types of
converters may also have one inductor and one capacitor as the energy storage elements. There
are also other types of non-isolated DC/DC converters that use two switches and two diodes in
the circuit topology and additional energy storage elements.
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 A lot of applications, including certain ones in electric and hybrid vehicles, require
electrical isolation between the input and the output. The isolated DC/DC converters
are derived from the basic topologies, but have high frequency transformer isolation.
 The high-power DC/DC converters are primarily used in three places of electric and
hybrid electric vehicles: Voltage boost for electric powertrain, high- to low-voltage
interface for 12 V electronics, and converters for energy storage cell balancing.
 A non-isolated DC/DC converter is often used in the powertrain of electric and
hybrid vehicles to boost the battery voltage to higher levels for the propulsion electric
motor drive.
 The 12 V electronics in the electric and hybrid vehicles are supplied with a high-
voltage to low-voltage DC/DC converter, which needs to be of isolated type.

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Non-isolated DC/DC Converters
 DC/DC converters can be designed to either step-up or step-down the input DC
voltage. Depending on the location of the two switches and the inductor and capacitor,
the three basic second-order DC/DC converter topologies are buck, boost and buck-
boost converters.
 A buck converter is a stepdown converter, and a boost converter is a step-up converter,
while a buck-boost converter can be operated in either mode.
 Improved topologies are available with two switching devices and two diodes, and
additional storage elements. Consequently, the order of the converter also increases
with the additional components. Examples of higher-order converters are Cuk and
Sepic converters.
 All of these DC/DC converters are used to convert an unregulated DC voltage into a
regulated DC output voltage; hence, the converters are known as switching regulators.

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Buck Converter

Fig. Buck converter with MOSFET-diode

implementation

Fig. Buck converter voltage and curre

waveforms
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Boost Converter

Fig. Boost converter with MOSFET-diode

implementation

Fig. Boost converter voltage and current

waveforms.
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Buck-Boost Converter

Fig. Buck-boost converter with MOSFET-diode

implementation

Fig. Buck-boost converter voltage

and current waveforms.

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Non‐Isolated Bidirectional DC–DC Converter
 The bidirectional DC–DC converter in an EV is also
sometimes called an energy management converter, or boost
DC–DC converter. This DC–DC converter is a high‐power
converter that links the HV battery at a lower voltage with
the HV DC bus.
 The typical voltage of a battery pack is designed at 300–400
V. The best operating voltage for a motor and inverter is
around 600 V. Therefore, this converter can be used to match
the voltages of the battery system and the motor system.
Fig. Bidirectional boost converter
 Other functions of this DC–DC converter include optimizing
topology
the operation of the powertrain system, reducing ripple
current in the battery, and maintaining DC link voltage,
hence the high‐power operation of the powertrain.
 The DC–DC converter provides bidirectional power transfer.
The operating principle is show in Figure.

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Buck operation
 In buck operation as shown in Figure, the power is transferred from Vd to VB. When T1 is closed
and T2 is open, since Vd > VB, VL = Vd − VB and the inductor current IL builds up. When T1 is
open, the inductor current IL continues to flow through D2. Thus, VL = VB.

Fig. inductor voltage and current waveform during buck operation

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 Assuming ideal components and a constant Vo, the inductor current over one cycle in
steady state operation will remain the same, for example,

where D1 is the duty ratio defined as the percentage of on‐time of switch T1:

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Boost operation
 In boost operation, the power is transferred from VB to Vd. When T2 is closed and T1 is open, VB
and the inductor form a short circuit through switch T2, as shown in Fig., therefore VL = VB and
the inductor current IL builds up. When T2 is open, the inductor current continues to flow
through D1 to Vd, therefore VL = Vd − VB

Fig. inductor voltage and current waveform during boost operation

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 where D2 is the duty ratio defined as the percentage of on‐time of switch T2:

 In the bidirectional boost converter control, since T1 and T2 cannot be switched

on simultaneously, a practical control strategy is to turn T2 off while T1 is on and
vice versa. In this case,

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 When an electric motor and inverter are directly connected to the battery without a
bidirectional DC–DC converter as shown in below Figure, as the current (power or
torque) goes up, the battery terminal voltage starts to drop because of the voltage
drop of the battery internal impedance.

Fig. Powertrain motor directly connected to battery without the

DC–DC converter

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 When a DC–DC converter is inserted between the battery and inverter/motor as
shown in Figure, the DC bus voltage before the inverter can be maintained as a
constant.
 Therefore, the constant torque range will not be affected by the battery SOC or
large power drawn by the inverter/motor.
 The above analysis assumes that the battery system is designed to handle the large
power dissipation during large power draw.

Fig. Powertrain motor connected to battery

through a DC–DC converter
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 Overview of buck and boost mode

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Problem
The following data is given on a buck/boost converter :

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Solution:
a) Referring to Fig., the value of V12(avg)=DS1VHVbus=0.35*500=175 V.
Because the battery voltage Vbatt is greater than V12(avg), current I flows out of
terminal 5 and into terminal 1 and the converter operates as a boost
converter.
The average value of current is Iav=

The negative sign indicates that current flows from the battery to the motor via
the HV bus and battery is hence being discharged.

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 b)The power drawn from the battery and delivered to the motor can be calculated
as,

c) To determine the ripple, we have to find the voltage across the inductor in ON
and OFF state of S1

Hence the current has a ripple of 4.55A and an average value of 500A.

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Isolated DC–DC Converter
 Transformers are also useful in applications that require large step-up or step down
of the input voltage.
 The concept is equally useful in power electronic converters where large voltage
ratios are required between the input and output side of power electronic
converters.
 The voltage and current stresses on the transistors and switches can be minimized to
improve efficiency by the proper choice of the transformer turns ratio.
 The output voltage polarity can also be easily set with the transformer winding
polarity. Multiple DC outputs are possible with transformers by using multiple
secondary windings and converter secondary side circuits.
 In addition, a number of applications, including some segments of the EV/HEV
system, require electrical isolation between the input and the output.

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 The voltage stepping and isolation is provided by incorporating a high frequency
transformer made of ferrite, amorphous or nanocrystalline materials.
 The operation at higher switching frequencies in the range of tens or hundreds of
kilohertz helps minimize the size and weight of these transformers drastically
compared to the power transformers operating at 50 or 60 Hz.
 Additional controls may also be needed in the converter to avoid transformer core
saturation. However, adding a transformer in a DC-DC converter will increase the
size and weight compared to a non-isolated converter and will also impact the
efficiency. There can be switching frequency limitations due to the parasitic elements
introduced by the transformer.
 There are several approaches for the primary and secondary winding connections
with the power devices giving rise to different converter topologies.

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 The primary winding arrangements can be s ingle-ended, push-pull, half-bridge or
full-bridge as shown in Fig.1.
 The secondary arrangements can be half-wave, center-tapped full-wave, or full-bridge
full-wave. Two of these secondary arrangements are shown in Fig.2.
 With multiple windings, the critical design consideration is to ensure volt-sec balance
for each winding. Failure to maintain the volt-sec balance will lead to core saturation
that will destroy the converter.

Fig.1. Primary winding arrangements: (a) single-ended, (b) push-pull, (c) half-bridge and (d) full-bridge.

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 Fig.2. Secondary winding arrangements: (a) center-tapped half wave and (b) full-bridge full-wave.

 The isolated DC/DC converters can be derived from either the buck topology or the
boost topology. In addition, depending on the number of switches used, the DC/DC
converters can be single- switch type or multiple-switch type.
 The single-switch converters are similar to the buck or boost converter, but with a
transformer isolation. The two single-switch isolated DC/DC converters are the
forward and flyback converters.
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EV Powertrain Converters
 The primary power electronic converters in an EV powertrain are the inverter for
providing power to the traction electric machine, the DC/DC converter for
connecting the high-voltage system with the low-voltage system, and the on-board
charger (OBC) for plug-in electric vehicles. The power converters used in an EV or a
PHEV with respect to their locations are shown in below Figure.

Fig. Power electronic converters in an EV/PHEV electric powertrain

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 Rectifiers Used in HEVs
 Rectifiers are used to convert an AC input to a DC output. Even though controlled
rectifiers exist, they are rarely used in automotive applications. Therefore, we will
only discuss uncontrolled passive rectifiers and their unique aspects in HEV
applications.

 With ideal diode characteristics, the output of a single‐phase rectifier can be

expressed as.

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 The output of an ideal three‐phase rectifier is

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 Practical Rectifier
 In HEV applications, the input to a rectifier is usually the output of a synchronous
generator (such as in a series HEV or complex HEV), or an alternator (in a belt–
alternator–starter HEV).
 The generator impedance is in series with the voltage source, and the voltage drop
of the diodes is also included. It can be seen that there is a significant amount of
voltage drop in a practical rectifier when compared to an ideal rectifier.
 The voltage drop is caused by the impedance of the generator, which is generally
not negligible, different from that of rectifiers connected to an infinite AC grid.
 Besides, there will be commutation loss due to the inductance of the generator.
Therefore, the output voltage can be significantly different between no•
]load and
loaded conditions. The difference is defined as voltage regulation.

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 Fig. Practical rectifiers used in an HEV
(upper curve, ideal rectifier; lower curve, practical rectifier).

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 Single‐Phase Rectifier

 At no‐load conditions, due to the existence of the output capacitor, the output voltage
will equal the peak of the input voltage, that is,

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 When load current increases, the impedance of the generator, and the diodes, will
each have a voltage drop on them. If the DC link capacitor is sufficiently large, then
we can assume that the output voltage V1 (DC link voltage) is constant. We further
assume that diode voltage drop VD is also a constant.
 By solving,

we get
 The analysis can be divided into two scenarios: discontinuous and continuous mode.
 In discontinuous mode, the AC side current is not continuous. The current starts
from zero and builds up when ωt ≥ θ1; it reaches a maximum when

 The current then drops to zero at θ2, θ2 < π + θ1.

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Continuous Mode:

 In continuous mode, the AC side current does not reach 0 at π+θ1. In other words, θ2>π + θ1.
 In continuous mode, the voltage equation is

 Note that the AC input will not have current until the voltage exceeds the output voltage plus
the diode drop. However, the current will continue to flow until it reaches zero at angle θ2.
 We further neglect the resistance. The above differential equation can be simplified and the
following solution obtained:

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 Since i(θ1) = 0, from the above equation we get

 The output power of the rectifier must be equal to the power consumed by the load:

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 The above expression cannot be directly solved due to the fact that θ1 and θ2 are
functions of Vo. But it can be seen that the rectifier output is closely related to the
impedance of the generator.
 The voltage regulation is,

 Apparently, the voltage regulation is a function of the internal impedance of the

generator, and the output power.

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Voltage Ripple:

 The above derivation assumes that the output voltage is constant. However, it can be
seen that the current from the AC input is discontinuous. This means that, during the
portion of the cycle when there is no current from the AC side (e.g., from 0 to θ1, and
from θ2 to π if θ2 < π), the load current is supplied by the capacitor.
 However, due to the nonlinearity of the current, when the load current is less than
the AC side current, the capacitor still has to supply some current to the load.
 Therefore, we can assume that if the load current is constant, and also that the
capacitor supplies current to the load 50% of the time, then the voltage ripple is

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 Inverters Used in HEVs
 A static device that converts DC power into AC power at desired output
voltage and frequency is called an Inverter.
 Inverter is called voltage source inverter (VSI) if the input voltage remains
constant and current source inverter (CSI) if the input current is
maintained constant.
 Applications
 Adjustable – speed AC drives,
 Induction Heating,
 Aircraft power supplies,
 UPS etc….

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 • Single phase Inverter

• Half Bridge Inverter

• Full Bridge Inverter

• Three phase voltage source inverter (Normally

used for high power applications)

• 180 degree mode

• 120 degree mode

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Single Phase Half-bridge Inverter

Two capacitors acts

as voltage source
for the load

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Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE
Full Bridge Single-phase Inverter

S1 & S2 on, S3 & S4 off

S3 & S4 on, S1 & S2 off

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Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE
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 Three Phase VSI
(180 Degree Mode)

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 Step Devices Conducting
I T1, T5 & T6
II T1, T2 & T6
III T1, T2 & T3
IV T4, T2 & T3
V T4, T5 & T3
VI T4, T5 & T6
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 0° ≤ωt ≤ 60° 60° ≤ ωt ≤ 120° 120° ≤ ωt ≤ 180°
T1, T5 & T6 T1, T2 & T6 T1, T2 & T3

180° ≤ ωt ≤ 240° 240° ≤ ωt ≤ 300° 300° ≤ ωt ≤ 360°

T4, T2 & T3 T4, T5 & T3 T4, T5 & T6

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Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE
 Fig. Powertrain non-boosted traction inverter.

 The six-switch VSI topology is used for induction machines, interior permanent
magnet or any other three-phase synchronous machine. The VSI which is a two-level
inverter is typically hard switched.
 Three-level inverters such as the T-type are also good candidates for the inverter
depending on the unique application requirements. Whether 2 or 3 L is the choice, the
overarching design goal for traction inverters is enhanced high efficiency and
reliability while maintaining low cost, size and mass.
Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE
 Fig. Traction inverter with associated filter
components and controller.

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

 Electric Traction Motor
 Electrical Machines are devices used for the interconversion of electrical and
mechanical energy. From the image shown below, one can observe the EV moving
up the slope, and different forces are acting on the vehicle. For the EV to move up
on the slope, the electrical machine needs to work as a motor hence providing the
power to the EV. When the EV is coming down the slope, as shown in the right
image, the same electric machine will act as a generator helping the driver to limit
the speed of the car and recharge the battery.

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

 Selecting the power rating of an electric machine for use within an EV depends on
the vehicle mass and the desired acceleration performance. Many types of electric
machines exist which can be used to provide the necessary propulsion power.
 Some general requirements of electric machines for use within both (P) HEVs and
EVs are as follows:
 Ease of control
 Fault tolerance
 High efficiency
 High power at high speed (cruising) and High power density
 High low-speed torque (accelerating)
 Peak torque 2-3 times the continuous torque rating
 Extended constant power region of operation
 Low acoustic noise and Low Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE
  Typical torque/power-speed characteristics required for traction machines are
illustrated in Fig.

 Induction motor
 permanent-magnet (PM)
brushless machines
 Synchronous reluctance
motor

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

Operation Principles of Electric Machines

Lorentz torque: In this principle, the permanent magnets are stationary on a stator
and a constant current is passed through the rotor windings through a commutator,
which produces a force on the rotor windings that rotates the rotor. The DC (Direct
Current) machine operates on this principle.

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

Alignment torque: In this principle, the machine operates based on the alignment
torque between opposite magnetic poles, where both rotor and stator are equipped
with magnetic poles and hence the rotor rotates at the same speed as the stator
magnetic poles rotate. This speed is defined as the synchronous speed. A
synchronous machine’s operation is based on this principle.

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

Reluctance torque: The torque is produced because the rotor iron poles tend to align
to the magnetic flux lines so that minimal magnetic reluctance is achieved. The rotor
here also rotates with synchronous speed. The difference compared to the alignment
torque is that the rotor poles are purely passive iron poles here. Synchronous
reluctance motor works on this principle.

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

 Induced current torque: In this principle, the rotating magnetic field from the stator
induces a current in the rotor, and the interaction of the induced current and the
magnetic field produces torque in the motor. To have the induced current, the rotor
should rotate at asynchronous speed, i.e., the rotor speed should be different from the
synchronous speed. The most commonly used induction motor works on this
principle.

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE
Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE
• Brushed DC motor
• Let’s start with the simple, classic brushed DC motor. This motor has a stator and a
rotor with an electric coil in it. When this coil is connected with the battery, producing
a direct current, the coil produces a magnetic field which causes the rotor to rotate to
have the poles face the opposite poles of the permanent magnets in the stator. To keep
this momentum, the polarity of the coils is switched. The image shows how this works.

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

 Induction motor
 The AC induction motor needs no permanent magnets. Instead, the magnetic
field is produced by a current that flows through the windings in the housing or
stator. Now if you connect the stator to an alternating current, this means the
magnetic field in the stator will also alternate. If three-phase AC input is used, a
so-called rotating magnetic field or RMF is produced.
 The magnetic field from the stator will induce a voltage and current in the
windings of the rotor. That’s why it’s called the induction motor. This, in turn,
leads to the rotor producing its own magnetic field, and this magnetic field will
make the rotor turn so as to align itself with the magnetic field from the stator.
The rotor will follow this rotating magnetic field in the stator without the need
for a commutator with brushes.

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE
 Advantages Disadvantages

Induced currents in the rotor cause losses and

Simple and rugged
heat

No brushes Not the lightest and most compact motor

No permanent magnet

No position sensor

No starting mechanism

Easy speed control

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

Permanent magnet motor
If we construct a rotor with permanent magnets, we no longer need to induce a magnetic field in
the rotor. This avoids losses and heat development in the rotor. Because of all this, permanent
magnet motors are currently the smallest and lightest electric motors you can buy. Because the
rotor is already magnetized, it is always in sync with the rotating magnetic field. That’s why
permanent magnet motors are also classified as synchronous motors.

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

 Advantages Disadvantages (needs)

Light and small Permanent magnets (cost + environment + can

demagnetise)

Silent Position sensor

Efficient (esp at lower speeds) Starter mechanism

Electronic controller

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

 Synchronous reluctance motor: The synchronous reluctance motor has only recently
been developed and seems to have the best of both worlds. It has a rotor that contains
metal that is formed in such a way that it wants to align itself naturally to the
surrounding magnetic field. This means it doesn’t need to produce its own electric
field through induced currents, like the induction motor, which means fewer losses.
Finally, it doesn’t need permanent magnets, which makes it much cheaper than a
permanent magnet motor.

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

 Advantages Disadvantages

Torque comparable to permanent Lower efficiencies at lower speeds

magnet motor

Efficient at higher speeds Higher inherent noise and torque

ripple (but increasingly dampened by
advanced controllers)

Cheap and clean to produce (no

permanent magnets)

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE
Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE
 Fig. Idealized torque/power-speed characteristics

Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles Department of EEE